Sam's Grill

374 Bush St., San Francisco, CA - (415) 421-0594

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Posted By Michael Stern on 2/4/2010 1:01:00 PM

Sam's Grill is at the high end of the Roadfood budget. You easily can spend $50 on a meal. But it is a true and historic – and delicious – taste of San Francisco. Open since 1867, it is deluxe (executives come wearing expensive suits), and it is informal (tear at your sourdough bread with gusto, letting crumbs fall where they may). It looks the way you want a great old California restaurant to look: outfitted with yards of thick white linen, brass hooks for coats, and private wooden dining booths for intimate meals.

Sam's menu is a benchmark of a splendid west coast cuisine that never goes in or out of style: fresh Pacific seafood, charcoal grilled or pan fried, accompanied by hearty salads, a loaf of brittle-crusted sourdough bread, and fresh vegetables. The kitchen also turns out a huge roster of straightforward American food, including two dozen specials and almost a hundred à la carte selections every day. It is possible to order charcoal-grilled steaks and chops, sweetbreads done three ways, or shortribs of beef with horseradish sauce, or just bacon and eggs. Nearly everybody comes to Sam's for the seafood, but one of these days we are going to branch out onto other tasty trails.

As is characteristic of so much new California cuisine, most of Sam's seafood is plainly cooked. This is the place to sample Pacific rarities that seldom make it east, like genuine Hangtown fry (an omelette made with Northwest oysters), petrale sole grilled over charcoal; and the delicate, white-fleshed local fish called sand dabs – about a half dozen sweet little filets sauteed in lemon butter.

Sam's is quirky, the way venerable oldsters are entitled to be. Open only on weekdays, only until nine at night, it caters to a clientele of people who work downtown and come every day for lunch, or for an early dinner before heading home. At noon, it hosts successful-looking types jockeying for a table or crowding three deep against the bar. Once you are seated, it is an immensely comfortable place to eat. The staff of impeccably-dressed waiters are consummate professionals, not even blinking when they bring a second loaf of bread to a certain greedy twosome who pocketed their loaf to take with them on the trip north up the coast.

Scorecard

Overall: Legendary - Worth driving from anyplace

Sourdough Bread	Petrale Sole
Rex Sole a la Sam	Hash Browns
Fried Filet of Sole

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"Charcoal broiled petrale sole is a clean, full-flavored fish. Like most other fish dishes at Sam's, it is served with a single boiled potato. If you want a fancier spud or other side dish, you order it a la carte."
Michael Stern

"Hash browns are one of six varieties of potato Sam's offers, the others being boiled, baked, shoestring, long branch and au gratin."
Michael Stern

"Words cannot convey just how elegant this rex sole is. Even the edge of a fork seems too brutal when you sever a piece, and it is virtually weightless flavor on the tongue."
Michael Stern

"Every table gets a lot of sourdough bread to start the meal. We are always tempted to pocket some for later. It's the best."
Michael Stern

"Even fish-frowner Jane declared this fried filet of sole one of the eating highlights of our West Coast trip."
Michael Stern

"Sam goes back to 1867 when it started as an oyster saloon. In more recent decades it became a definitive San Francisco restaurant with sophisticated polish, honest local food and fantastic sourdough bread."
Michael Stern

"Sam's is a clubby place. This is the open dining room. Adjoining it is an area with private dining booths."
Michael Stern